Both Sides Of The EdTech Debate Are Wrong – Here’s Why

It is necessary to say that both sides of the EdTech debate are wrong. And is that as technology advances in education, the visions of “robots in the classroom” and children who look at the screens of computers throughout the day have provoked a heated debate.

In this way, it is important to identify both sides of this debate. Thus, on the one hand, there are opponents who fear dehumanizing education due to the concern that technology could replace teachers. On the other hand, there are those who want to implement technology everywhere, as if EdTech could solve all the problems.

Still, there are those who believe that both parties are wrong. Being that technology can certainly be a tool to optimize student learning, including time spent with teachers. But when EdTech claims to be the solution to every problem, or to the problems it does not really solve, it will fail. When that happens, there is a breeding ground for misunderstanding that groups all the technology and qualifies it as “bad”.

Optimal option or not?

It should be noted that personalized learning is an educational approach that goes back to the tutor and student model of ancient Greece. The technology that comes is with proven approaches that make personalized learning scalable and profitable, and the keyword here is “proven”. Likewise, a recent study by a group of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School showed that there is an effect for doctors studying for their board exams, although the approval rates are already quite high because Doctors tend to be experts in learning.

However, technological tools do not solve everything. In fact, unfortunately, EdTech has not been tested and has not been presented without scientific evidence of what it can do, to the frustration of teachers, parents and students alike. Even for useful technology, expectations often inflate, becoming false promises that lead to disappointment.

In this way, good teachers, who can be effective with a blackboard and chalk, are the key to success in the classroom. The same goes for iPads in schools. Currently, they are tools for students to download textbooks and access supplementary material, and it is justified when teachers and parents rebel against the supposedly transforming nature of that.